summer hibernation

I'm leaving tomorrow for Morocco. It's probably a good thing, too, because I've had serious motivation issues lately with running. I had so much energy and adrenaline getting me through my first year at a full-time teaching job, taking me through my first marathon, two half marathons, long runs on the weekend, etc, and with the onset of the Florida summer heat (Note to David: how do you deal?) and the ending of the school year, I am just exhausted, completely wiped out. I still make myself go running every other day, but the runs are seldom of high quality. I've temporarily lost that drive that made me want to bounce out of bed in the morning and hit the pavement. Sometimes I even put on my running clothes early in the day only to keep them on all day because I can't motivate to get out the door until the last possible instant. The only good thing I can say about my runs is that I've managed to make 4-milers a regular part of my "bare minimum" physical activity-- which used to be just a three miler every other day. I haven't been motivated to lift weights or do any ab work (ahh, how i miss power abs), and I can already see the muscle loss.

I just can't be a drill sergeant on myself year-round, and I'm okay with that. I tend to have cycles of motivation with everything in my life-- periods where I'm reading and writing prolifically, periods where I can do nothing but watch TV, periods where I'm cooking like I'm on audition for Food Network, and times where I can barely throw together a taco dinner kit. I have to fight that Protestant work-ethic guilt, but I try... Cycles of motivation--do you other RBF'ers have similar issues?

So, not sure about whether I'll update while I'm gone, but I'll be back, and looking forward to catching up with the rest of you... I'm just going into some Florida summer-induced hibernation...